CoSport: No Hero in Olympic Ticket Distribution

2/7/2010

If you have trouble accepting Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" as The Tooth Fairy, then you will never believe that CoSport, the company that controls the sale of Olympic tickets, can be a hero. For over twenty years, this company has controlled ticket distribution, where only the rich and powerful receive access.

 And yet, according to a story by Ron Judd in the Seattle Times, we learn that CoSport company president, Mark Lewis, magically found tickets for a distraught mother of an Olympic Athlete. Apparently, Lewis's fairy godfather and boss, Sead Dizdarevic, was able to produce tickets for an opportune, feel-good-press story. If only that magic could be spread to the rest of the parents and family members who will be without tickets for the Olympic events.

The similarities in the two situations are amazingly alike. Dwayne Johnson's character does not believe in fair play. He tells kids to lower their expectations. He is accused of killing dreams. He is advertised as the meanest man in hockey.

CoSport's president, Mark Lewis and Sead Dizdarevic need a lesson in fair play because parents and friends of Olympic athletes go without tickets while expensive hospitality packages are made available. If you can afford prices of $3,806 to $34,500 and up, you don't need someone to put money under your pillow, you just need your banker.

Johnson's character is ordered to serve time as a tooth fairy to fully appreciate the value of this mythical character. Perhaps it is time for Lewis or Dizdarevic to serve time as parents of Olympic athletes who are scammed out of tickets or forced to watch their child perform on television. They need to live the sacrifices made by parents and athletes to fully appreciate what happens in the real world.

Athletes have to train, qualify, find sponsors, and they help find money for their parents to attend the Olympics. For example, U.S. curler Chris Plys  earned cash on a new reality show to fund his parents' trip to Canada from Duluth, MN. His father, Patrick, has recently overcome brain cancer. Getting his parents to the Olympics does not mean he will find tickets to his events, but he has not lowered his expectations.

Like Johnson's character, someone has their brain in the penalty box with the way Olympic tickets are disbursed. There is already concern about ticket availability for the 2012 Olympics in London. Believing in magic will not change the situation, but a Ticket Fairy sure would help.